Waist.



rib. 653,67l. Ptented July I7, I900. c. r. GUODALE.

' WAIST.

(Application filed June 20, 1899.)

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CAROLINE F. GOODALE, OF YVALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

WAIST.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 653,671, dated July 17, 1900.

Application filed June 20, 1 89 9.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CAROLINE F. GOODALE, of W'altham, county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Waists, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

. This invention has for its object the production of a novel waist, one especially designed to act as a shoulder-brace and which may be readily adjusted from time to time to adapt the waist to the changed conditions or erectness of the body and the general expansion of the chest following the continued use of the waist to beherein described.

Figure 1, in front elevation, represents a waist embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a View showing the back of the waist, and Fig. 3 is a detail showing the front drawing-string in the front of the waist at the neck.

My improved waist is composed of a body part to embrace the waist more or less snugly, a portion of said body part extending, as herein represented, up to and constituting the lower edges of the arm-scye.

The upper edge of the back of the body part terminates, preferably, at or just below the lower edges of the shoulder-blades, while the front of the body extends but partially up from the lower edge of the front, the upper edge of the front having gathered or otherwise secured to it suitable bust-covering portions, the shoulder parts of which are attached to one of the wings attached to the body at the back of the waist for a short distance along one edge thereof from the arm-scye downward.

The waist presents a pair of wings, represented as being of inelastic material, which in operation are connected with the body of the waist only at their outer edges, and the edges of these free wings are made to meet and preferably overlap each other between the shoulder-blades,onewingbeing connected to the other by any usual or suitable fastenings, the object of the wings being to correct a tendency to stooping, said wings being adjustable readily at any desired time to narrow the upper part of the back of the waist as the person becomes more and more erect.

Serial No. 721,197. (No model.)

The under edges of the wings are unattached t0 the top of the back body portion.

The upper edges of the bust-covering portions are under the control of and are made adjustable by a drawing-strin g, thus allowing for expansion of the chest, resulting from the straightening of the back, which will follow continued use of the waist.

I shall describe my improved waist as made up of a body composed of two front pieces A A, joined to side pieces B B, and the back piece 0. The back and front and side pieces may be com posed of any desired number of pieces of cloth suitably shaped, after the manner of manufacturing corsets to fit the body. The upper edge e of the back 0 terminates (see Fig. 2) at a point at or near the lower edges of the shoulder-blades of the person to wear the waist. The upper ends of the side pieces B and B terminate at b b to const-itut'e the under sides of the arm-scyes, and the front portion A A is represented as separated and united by suitable buttons at in suitable buttonholes a.

The upper edge of the front of the waist is represented at a a said edges terminating at or below the bust-line and having stitched to them by lines of stitches (represented in Fig. 1) suitable bust-covering portions a and (t said bust-covering portions being preferably shirred or gathered on the upper edge of the front of the body, the upper edge of the bust-covering portion receiving in it a suitable string, as d, extended through like pockets d at the upper edge of the bust-covering portion, said string being tied at d the rear or opposite ends of the string terminating at the shoulder-seams.

The shoulder-covering portions (1 and G7 of the bustcovering portions are united, as

herein shown, at a point back of the topv Ice herein represented as a hook g, adapted to engage any one of a series of eyes g, said eyes being herein represented as composed of threads made into a loop and connected with the wing f.

It will be obvious that this waist might be applied to a round-shouldered person and the hook g be engaged with the eye g farthest to the left in Fig. 2, and when so hooked the wings might produce a considerable strain across the shoulders. After some days the wings may be further adjusted, the hooks be made to engage the next row of eyes from the left-hand side, and finally the hooks may be made to engage the right-hand eyes of the series. Instead of these particular hooks or eyes I mayv use any other suitable or desirable fastenings, and their positions may be changed from time to time, as may be desired, to cause the wings ff to fit snugly across the shoulders.

Suppose the chest is contracted. When the person first commences to wear the waist, and having worn it for some time the shoulders have been brought back, the chest will be expanded, and, following this expansion, the upper shirred edge of the bust-covering portion of the string referred to will be moved so as to cause the bust-covering portions to lie properly upon and to cover the bust.

Leaving the lower edges of the wings entirely free to be moved with relation to the upper edge of the back 0 prevents any downward pull or strain on the shoulders and also enables the strains due to irregular positions of the shoulder-blades to be taken up by the wingsf and f and without putting-any drawing strains upon the body of the waist at the back.

Prior to my invention I am not aware that a waist adapted to be worn by ladies has ever been provided with a shoulder-brace, the shoulder-brace forming part of the waist, and I therefore desire to claim this broadly.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A waist composed of a body-encircling portion the upper edge of which terminates at the lower edges of the shoulder-blades, in-' dependent wings connected at their outer ends to the body of thewaist and leading above and below the shoulders, and means adj ustably uniting the inner sides of the wings to each other.

2. In a waist, a body portion having the upper edge of its back terminating near the lower edges of the shoulder-blades, and wings leading over the shoulders and also connected into the side pieces of the back and free at their lower edges, and one of which overlaps the other; combined with suitable fastenings to control the degree of overlapping of the wings, substantially as described.

3. In at waist, a body portion to encircle the body, the upper edge of the body portion terminating near the lower edges of the shoulder-blades, freely and independently movable wings leading over the shoulders and connected at the sides to said body portion, said wings being free at their lower and inner edges, and adapted to overlap the shoulderblades, andmeans for adjustably unitingsaid wings to each other.

4. In a waist, a body portion to encirclethe body, the upper edge of the body portion terminating near the lower edges of the shoulder-blades, freely and independently movable wings leading over the shoulders and connected at the sides to said body portion, said Wings being free at their lower and inner edges, and adapted to overlap the shoulderblades, means for adjustably uniting said wings to each other, and bust-covering portions connected with the front of the body portion at or below the bust-line, the upper edges of said bust-covering portions being controlled by a drawing string.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OAROLIN E F. GOODALE.

Witnesses:

Geo. W. GREGORY, EM A J. BENNETT. 

